‘In-Your-Face’ Ads on Computers Get Thumbs Up

NEW YORK – A study says consumers prefer ads that get in their face by taking over their computer screens.

Undertone, a digital ad firm, along with ad researcher Ipsos ASI, says despite being more interruptive to the browsing experience, consumers have a more likeable experience with high impact ads than the standard display ads.

Full-screen takeover ads were 78-percent more likely than standard display to make consumers want to learn more about a product/brand.

Ad units with more overall pixel size were the most effective at building awareness.

Large-canvas display ads were 41-percent more likely to be found enjoyable than standard display.

High-impact ads were more likely to drive social sharing and consumer actions beyond the ad click. (Full-screen takeover ads were 61-percent more likely to be shared on social networks and 58-percent more likely to elicit personal recommendations than standard display.)

Large-canvas display ads were more effective at driving personal recommendations than social network sharing or consumer shopping behaviors – 49-percent more likely to drive personal recommendations than standard display ads.

The study, which surveyed 3,000 in September 2013, focused on display ads, comparing high-impact display ads with standard banners.

Eric Franchi, co-founder of Undertone, says previous data revealed that high impact ads outperform standard display against metrics like click-through rate and engagement, but to date, there has been limited data revealing the branding, emotive and social impact of these larger, more immersive units.

“This study conclusively proves the efficacy of these units against a broad range of metrics that are highly valuable for brands,” Franchi says. “The findings are particularly timely as marketers are increasingly starting to weigh the benefits of extending high impact buys across smartphones and tablets as part of integrated brand campaigns.”

Based on the attributes that scored highest among respondents who were asked to describe full-screen takeover ad units, respondents seemed to gravitate to “these ads are ‘buzzy’, this-is-a-big-deal.”

People were 90-percent more likely to agree that these full-screen units are “an ad people will talk about” compared to other display ads, and 86-percent found them to be more entertaining. Similarly, respondents were 79-percent more likely to find these ads “unique” and 78-percent more likely to credit these ads with “making me want to learn more about the product or brand.”